I was born in Mawenzi in the Moshi District of Tanzania and lived with my parents, my two elder sisters, and one younger sister in Boma Ngombe Hai, in Kilimanjaro. I studied first at the Uhuru Primary School and afterward at the Kibohehe Secondary School. After I finished school, I started two small businesses to help support my family. These involved selling everyday groceries and running a small chicken farm from home, which involved selling chickens or their eggs. After that, I attended the Pasiansi College in Mwanza (far from my home), where I took a three-month ranger course. Unfortunately, I did not get to complete this course due to a lack of funds to pay my fees.
After that, I returned home and initially continued with the chicken farm. I then got a job opportunity with Easy Travel to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as a porter on the Machame Route, lasting six days. This was my first climbing experience, and it was very challenging because I was not yet ready for this tough climb. Most porters get experience until the last base camp, and some porters are then scheduled to escort trekkers to the summit. I got experience trekking all the different routes of Mount Kilimanjaro and then became a summit porter with the job of escorting trekkers to the top of the mountain.
I moved from Moshi to Arusha City because I wanted to study while at the same time continuing to trek and get more and more experience of the climb. At this time, I was studying on a tour guide course at the Professional Tour Guide School. After finishing these studies, I attended a Mountain Guide Course at the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka, and on completion, I was granted my mountain guide license. This meant that at Easy Travel, I was promoted from my position as a porter to a mountain guide.
I live in the Sanawari area of Arusha City with my wife and two daughters. The elder one is called Highness, and the younger one is Evelyn. Living in Arusha City is convenient, as this is where Easy Travel & Tours has its headquarters. From my first experience as a trainee porter until now, I have learned many things at Easy Travel. I have been lucky enough to work with many experienced mountain guides at the company, and from them, I have learned a lot about being a mountain guide and ethics.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that involves much planning. It is also the dream of many people to get to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and reach the summit. The trekkers are excited about seeing the incredible scenery and reaching the summit.
The different attractions of Mount Kilimanjaro include the many different species of birds in the forested zone. Some examples are the Hartlab Turaco, Mountain White-Eyed, and the White-Napped raven. There are also different species of animals, such as the black and white Colobus monkeys, the blue monkey, the red duiker, the common duiker, and the jackal. There are fascinating flowers with great names, such as the Impatiens Kilimanjarika, Red hot poker, Gladiolus Watsonioides, and Giant Senecio. Also worth seeing are the permanent waterfalls on Mount Kilimanjaro, whose waters come from the melted ice, the glaciers, or simply from rainfall.
My favorite route is the Machame Route, which I walked for six days. I like it because it takes fewer days and has a high summit-success rate. On this route, you can get the chance to see the sunset and a view of Mount Meru (which is a neighboring mountain and the second-highest mountain in Tanzania). You can also view Kilimanjaro’s three peaks, namely the Shira, Mawenzi, and Kibo peaks. Kibo is also called Uhuru peak, and it is the summit. This route also meets three other routes: Lemosho, Londrosi, and Umbwe.
There are more than 125 tribes in Tanzania, which is fascinating, especially as Tanzanians live together like friends and are generous towards all people, whatever tribe they are from. We Tanzanians live in harmony together.
‘Chaga’ is the tribe that my mother comes from. This tribe lives in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. They are mostly farmers that plant coffee, bananas, and maize. The native language is Chaga, and the people can be found in various geographic locations, such as Machame, Kibosho, Marangu, Old Moshi, Sia, and Rombo. All these people are Chaga, but their language will vary slightly according to location.
‘Jambo’ which means hello.
‘Asante’ which means thank you.
‘Pole Pole’ which means slowly slowly.
I advise trekkers to listen to their mountain guides whenever guidance is offered because they have all the experience and understand all the conditions and challenges that every trekker comes across. Listening to this advice will help trekkers to increase their chances of summiting. Ensuring you have enough of the right gear and equipment is crucial because you must be prepared for weather conditions or landscape changes. For example, when it’s windy, you need to have windbreakers. For rainy conditions, rain jackets and ponchos are essentials.
The weather on Mount Kilimanjaro is unpredictable. It can change from sunny to rainy or cold in a few minutes. There is a strong wind at an altitude of 3000m and above. Proper gear and equipment are vital. Insufficient gear, or gear not of good quality, can prevent you from achieving your dream of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. More than 90% of trekkers who climb Mount Kilimanjaro have never been at a high altitude as they will experience on Mount Kilimanjaro. We advise every trekker to go slowly because their bodies have not adjusted too high altitudes. This slow pace helps them to adjust and adapt to the high altitude.
The summit is another physical and mental challenge because you spend between 7 and 8 hours walking (depending on the trekker’s pace and health). This is perhaps the highest altitude you will have experienced, and you face low oxygen levels. Being cold and tired are real challenges, and there is a period when you can question why you are even doing this! So, endurance, self-commitment and positive thinking will help you reach the top.
The challenges I have faced on the mountain are mainly the weather conditions affecting the trekker’s health. Altitude sickness is the one that often affects the trekker. If this is severe, they are returned to a lower elevation so their body can adjust to normal. Guests also suffer from hypothermia caused by the body losing heat in cold weather. If this occurs, we add warm clothing and cover them with a survival blanket. This is made from a special foil material that keeps the trekkers warm.
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